Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congressman Matt Rosendale (MT-02) filed the following amendment to H.R. 8998 - Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2025

• Amendment #27: Prohibits funds from being used to implement, administer, or enforce the threatened species of the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem population of grizzly bear under the Endangered Species Act of 1973.

“Human bear conflicts are steadily increasing as bear populations expand closer to Montana communities and further from their described habitat,” said Rep. Rosendale. “Grizzly bears easily can maim or kill people, and it is empirically proven that their listing is a lethal threat to the residents of my state. When man and bear are forced to meet, the bear always wins, and continued refusal to delist them will only put more people in harm’s way.”  

Key Background:

• On July 18, a 72-year-old man was out picking huckleberries in the Flathead National Forest and had to shoot a grizzly bear after being viciously attacked.  The man had to be taken to the hospital.

• Last year, a motorist struck a grizzly bear near Bonner, Montana, hours south of where they typically roam.

• In 2022, there were nearly 150 confirmed livestock predation cases in Montana, costing residents hundreds of thousands of dollars and causing fear and sleepless nights for Montana’s ranchers.